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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Album of the Week, 10/17/09--Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack

Tweens rejoice! Your favorite repulsively good-looking vampire friends are back—meaning faux-teen fodder for your Tiger Beat and some not-bad music for our iPods. The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack is officially released Tuesday, October 20.

Sure, choosing it as my Album of the Week has a certain bloodsucking vapidity, but it's getting close to Halloween, and something wicked this way must come. It also happens to be a good collection of mainstream alt artists, ranging from the BXR-friendly Death Cab for Cutie to the lesser-known Band of Skulls. Having seen Grizzly Bear perform "Slow Life" live with Victoria Legrand earlier this month, I can vouch for this song with all of my still-beating heart. Thom Yorke and the Killers also contribute, and both tracks are solid, if not exactly inspired. Lykke Li and Anya Marina have the baby-voiced crowd covered, while Bon Iver (with St. Vincent) and Editors round out an all-star cast of indie superstars.

As with most soundtracks, there's always the hope that this will be, like, the best mix tape ever. But we all know how hard it is to make a mix tape for someone else. It might end up stuffed metaphorically in a box, not to be rediscovered for ten years, like some lame mix tape from a wannabe friend. I think I need several listens before I decide yay or nay.

The tracks in order:

1. "Meet Me on the Equinox" by Death Cab For Cutie

2. "Friends" by Band of Skulls

3. "Hearing Damage" by Thom Yorke

4. "Possibility" by Lykke Li

5. "A White Demon Love Song" by The Killers

6. "Satellite Heart" by Anya Marina

7. "I Belong to You [New Moon Remix]" by Muse

8. "Rosyln" by Bon Iver and St. Vincent

9. "Done All Wrong" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

10. "Monsters" by Hurricane Bells

11. "The Violet Hour" by Sea Wolf

12. "Shooting the Moon" by Ok Go

13. "Slow Life [with Victoria Legrand]" by Grizzly Bear

14. "No Sound but the Wind" by Editors

15. "New Moon [The Meadow]" by Alexandre Desplat

For the record, I've never read any of Stephenie Meyer's vampiric "masterpieces," but I've had the first two books sitting on the lower rack of my coffee table for months in an intimidating and ever-growing Pile o' Books to Read, along with the Nick Hornby Songbook. (I borrowed them from my ever-patient friend Rebekah. Sorry, Bekah... I promise I will get to them.)

do you suppose the the producers of the tween douchebag genres are trying to redeem themselves with good music? Been done before...Grey's Anatomy, the OC....but as music snobs - should we be happy there is new good music or renounce it for its smarmy associations? I need to ponder.